Countries: Bhutan
Variables: PW-LAW-1

"Legal (including polyandry via customary law) but not civilly recognized. Increasingly rare" (para 18)

Countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, South Africa, Turkmenistan
Variables: MULTIVAR-SCALE-6

8.0

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: TRAFF-DATA-1

According to the U.S. State Department's 2023 TIP report, Bhutan ranks as a Tier 2 country (85).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: DV-DATA-1

According to 2022 data from the WHO's Global Health Observatory, the proportion of ever-partnered women and girls (aged 15-49) in Bhutan who have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in their lifetime is 22 percent (KMM-CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: MMR-SCALE-1

60

Countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma/Myanmar, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Rep, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, D R Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Variables: DACH-SCALE-2

1more

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: MMR-DATA-1

According to a 2023 report on global trends in maternal mortality from 2000-2020 published by the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group, and UNDESA/Population Division, in 2020 the maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) in Bhutan was 60 (KMM-CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: DACH-DATA-1

According to the World Bank, as of 2021, life expectancy in Bhutan is 74 years for women and 70 years for men (KMM-CODER COMMENT).

Countries: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam
Variables: BR-SCALE-1

0

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: WAM-PRACTICE-1

"[I]n March 2019, Bhutan gained an advocate for media representations of women in the form of Namgay Zam, appointed as the executive director of the Journalists Association of Bhutan. Speaking with the International Federation of Journalists, she addressed the lack of managerial role models for women. She pointed to the fact that a preponderance of male media magnates leads to the perpetuation of gender stereotypes" (para.8).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: LO-LAW-1, LO-DATA-3, MARR-PRACTICE-7, GP-DATA-1

"Traditional society in Bhutan, which lies in the Eastern Himalayas between China and India, is matriarchal, and Bhutanese women do not have to contend with any institutionalized forms of discrimination. Participation in local and national decision-making is accessible to all genders, with female involvement reaching as high as 70 percent at the grassroots level. Women account for nearly half of land owners, increasing to 60 percent in rural regions" (para 2).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: LBHO-PRACTICE-1, GP-DATA-3, AFE-DATA-1

"In 2016, more girls attended school than boys, with 98 percent vs. 97 percent enrolled at the primary level. Bhutan’s first woman Dzongda (District Governor), was elected to office in 2012, and its first woman minister in 2013, ushering in a wave of successful woman candidates in 2016: that year witnessed a 68 percent increase in female representation compared to the previous election in 2011" (para.7).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: DACH-PRACTICE-1, LBHO-LAW-1, GIC-LAW-1, GIC-LAW-3, ABO-LAW-1

"Writing the previous year, Wangdi pointed explicitly to gaps in economic and governmental participation, with far fewer women than men in the civil service workforce and women making up just 8.5 percent of the National Assembly and 24 percent of the National Council. On a personal level, female reproductive rights lag in certain aspects. While women in the public and private sectors receive three months’ maternity leave with 100 percent of their wages, abortion is illegal except in certain specific cases, leading many women to cross into India and seek abortions in unsafe conditions" (para.4).

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: ABO-PRACTICE-1, AFE-PRACTICE-1

" Attitudes toward abortion may be traced to the tenets of the Buddhist religion, which has otherwise played a key role in many facets of gender parity, given that its tradition and values view men and women as equal. Regarding participation in the public sphere, two factors are broadly to blame, the first being a historical lack of education for women. In the 1950s and ’60s, when Bhutan began to prioritize national development and education, more boys than girls were sent to India for formal learning—a disparity that stemmed not from gender discrimination but rather from fears about girls’ safety during the long journey to school" (para.5).more

Countries: Bhutan
Variables: CL-PRACTICE-1, CL-DATA-1, DLB-DATA-1, CUST-LAW-1

"Also of concern is the burden on women as caretakers and unpaid workers in the home, which may hinder or entirely preclude professional development. In the case of divorce, Bhutanese law grants custody of children under nine years old to the mother, a statute that may further ingrain the stereotype of women as primary caregivers. A 2001 study found that, in rural areas, women were responsible for cooking, washing clothes, and preserving food for over 80 percent of households; urban regions presented an even starker figure, with more than 90 percent of households leaving cooking, cleaning, washing and food purchasing to women. These time-consuming tasks undeniably present a barrier to...more